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Friday, August 30, 2013

The memoir of Mary Elizabeth Lucy, the mistress of
Charlecote Park, a fine old Elizabethan house now in the care of the National
Trust, gives the modern-day reader a glimpse into the education and courting of
a Welch heiress during the Regency period.

The
daughter of Sir John and Lady Margaret Williams of Biddlewyddan, Mary Elizabeth
was born in 1803, and in her eighties set down her remembrances for her
grandchildren.

Her childhood
centered around piety and strict discipline. When she was very young, her
grandmother taught her prayers, and after her grandmamma died, her pious mother
undertook her religious instruction.

The
children—there were eight in all—were taken care of by a nurse in their early
years. "Whenever we were naughty," Mary Elizabeth writes, "she
used to say a witch would come and take us through the window."

The nurse
wasn't all frights. She slept in the nursery with the children, and it
delighted them to climb in her four-post bed once she vacated it in the
mornings, and they would draw the curtains and have a game of romps, where they
would knock each other down with pillows. Their old nurse was devoted to the
children throughout her life.

Throughout
her children, Mary Elizabeth would read Scripture to the illiterate nurse who
doted upon her.

Long, rough schooldays

When Mary
Elizabeth's younger brother went off to school, a governess was brought in for
the girls. Lessons began at six each morning in summer and seven in winter. If
she was late, she had to forfeit a penny. At eight, they broke for breakfast
which consisted of a bowl of bread and milk.

Her
governess was very strict. If Mary Elizabeth missed even a single word in a
page of history memorization or in a poem, she would be locked in the
schoolroom closet where the exercise books—and the governess's loaf of
bread—were kept. This terrified Mary Elizabeth because mice, attracted to the
bread, made their home within the dark closet.

The
children had a half-holiday on Saturday and a whole one on their birthdays.
Though children's birthday parties were unheard of, on their birthday they were
allowed to dine with their parents, and their old nurse would be allowed to
come and take desert with them—dressed in her silk gown and lace cap.

The
birthday of the firstborn son was an occasion to be celebrated with a dance for
all the neighbors to attend.

There was a
"schoolroom boy," a servant whose chief duty was to clean the shoes
of the children of the house. The lad was eager to learn to read, and Mary
Elizabeth would meet him in her play time, armed with her spelling book and a
slate. She said it took the patience of Job to teach him because he was
"so stupid," he could not remember the alphabet.

From her
governess, Mary Elizabeth learned French and Italian as well as needlework.

Every
morning Mary Elizabeth would read psalms to her mother, and each evening she
read the evening psalms to her governess, who encouraged Mary Elizabeth to give
a third of her pocket money to the poor. She also encouraged the children to
give up what they liked best for Lent.

Her
grandmother had read the children an old-fashioned book, Cobwebs to Catch Flies, and her brother would tell her tales of the
Arabian Nights.

As she grew
older, she became passionate about the study of music and drawing. Everyone in
the family played musical instruments, and Mary Elizabeth played several,
including the organ and the harp.

Coming out

At the
annual ball to celebrate her eldest brother's birthday when she was sixteen,
dancing began at nine o'clock and continued until four in the morning.
"The waltz was not yet known outside London Society," she wrote.
"We danced only country dances, quadrilles and reels." The end of the
ball was signaled by the Sir Roger de Coverly.

In her
teens she started studying with a new governess who had her read Shakespeare,
Sir Walter Scott and the French works by Racine, Corneille, and Moliere, and in
Italian, Tasso and Petrach.

Her first
introduction to society away from her North Wales neighborhood occurred when
she and her three sisters went to Lancashire for the Preston Guild, a fortnight
celebration that occurs once every 21 years. Balls were held every night, and
there was a Mayor's Reception where everyone wore court dress.

It was here
she met and fell in love with Wilson Patten, who also fell in love with her for
Mary Elizabeth outshone all her sisters.When the underage Patten went home to beg permission to marry her, his
father sent him abroad and wrote Mary Elizabeth's father a letter to tell her
to forget his son.

The gatehouse to Warwickshire's Charlecote Park Photo by Dr. John Bolen

A year later
George Lucy, the 34-yer-old owner of Charlecote Park, which included land that
had been in the Lucy family for 600 years, came to Mary Elizabeth's home in
Wales at the invitation of one of her brothers. In London, one of her sisters
had greatly admired him, and it was thought he was coming to Wales to see her.

However,
once he saw Mary Elizabeth, no other Williams daughter would do. He soon asked
her father's permission to marry Mary Elizabeth.

When her
father told her, she fell to her knees and begged him not to have her marry
George Lucy. Such a ploy had worked before when another of her sister's callers
had asked Sir John for his Mary Elizabeth's hand.

The
difference this time: the wealthy George Lucy came from one of the oldest
families in Britain, and his ancestral home, Charlecote Park, was one of the
finest old homes in the kingdom. Sir John wasn't about to let his daughter
forgo an opportunity like that.

No amount
of tears could dissuade him.

Many years
later she wrote: "I had been brought up to obey my parents in everything
and, though I dearly loved Papa, I had always rather feared him. I felt I dared
not disobey him."

After her
quick meeting with "Mr. Lucy" who officially proposed to her, Mary
Elizabeth flew upstairs to her mother and wept.

"My
sweet Mary," he mother said, "love will come when you know all of Mr. Lucy's good qualities."

Being so
pious, Mary Elizabeth prayed that she would become of good wife.

Several
weeks later they wed at the cathedral near her home, and when she rose from her
knees after the ceremony, she fainted away.

Despite the
rocky beginning, the marriage was a happy one that produced eight children. In
a very short time her mother's prophecy had come true. Mary Elilzabeth fell
deeply in love with her husband.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Today,
we associate cities with the sounds of engines, radios, sirens, and the general
hum of modern automation. Advertising blares at us with song and noise. It’s
easy, therefore, to think that a hundred or two hundred years ago, cities were
far more quiet places. In fact, they were still noisy.

London
of the Regency era (early 1800’s) had almost as much congestion—but instead of
automation’s hum, the sound of carriage wheels, harness, and horses gave the
city its bustle. London residents also had the cries of merchants to disturb
the day (and sometimes the night, too).

While
we are far more accustomed to going to stores today, in the 1800’s it was
common for goods to come to the customers. Vendors would ply their trade along
well populated (and well off) streets, where their goods would more easily sell.

Joseph
Addison, wrote in The
Spectator, December 1711, "There is nothing which more
astonishes a foreigner, and frights a country squire, than the Cries of London."

“Oranges,
Sweet China Oranges” is a cry that dates back to 1793, while the cry of, “Strawberries,
Scarlet Strawberries” dates to 1795. Also from the late 1700’s were the cries
for “New Mackerel” (as if anyone would want old mackerel), “Turnips &
Carrots Ho!” and, “Old chairs to mend.” But London’s cries dated back far
before then, to the 1500’s and would linger into the 1900’s.

It
was not just London that had its street vendors—any large city acquired hawkers
who would sell, “Gingerbread, Hot Spice Gingerbread” as well as roasted nuts of
all kinds, including chestnuts. Just about anything that could be provided in a
service (mending pans or china, sharpening knives and scissors, repairing
furniture, or sweeping chimneys) or carried (with portable foods such as bread,
milk, butter, fruits, and vegetables) would be sold door-to-door. Even such perishable
stuffs such as oysters might be carted around the streets to cooks and
housekeepers, and the calls might well lure them into a quick purchase.

Over
150 cries have been recorded, and they’ve gone on to be used both in song, and
used as the basis for prints, pottery, engravings, and paintings.

Francis
Wheatley produced a series of illustrations in 1796, highlighting the various vendors
in hand-colored prints, which were sold individually and later collected into
print editions. Musically, Richard Dering composed Cries of London, which is still performed and
can be purchased today, and other composers have also used the cries in various forms.

It
is to be hoped that the cries of London were once as harmonious as modern
singers can present them, but it is far more likely that the voices were rough and
probably hoarse from use, and possibly shrill when women had to call out their wares. Vendors also would try to customize their calls, some
would include prices, and some would include rhymes to make their calls all the
more memorable.

BIO

Shannon Donnelly’s Regency romances are now
available as from Cool Gus Publishing, as well as on Kindle, Nook, from Kobo
and other ebook retailers. Her latest book Regency romance, The Cardros Ruby, is now on sale with a special price of .99.

Her writing has won numerous awards,
including a RITA nomination for
Best Regency, the Grand Prize in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance
Writer" contest, judged by Nora Roberts, RWA's Golden Heart, and others.
Her writing has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic
Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers,
who note: "simply superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and
"beautifully written."

Her work has been on the top seller list of
Amazon.com and includes Paths of Desire,
a Historical Regency romance, of which Romantic Historical Lovers notes: “a
story where in an actress meets an adventurer wouldn’t normally be at the top
of my TBR pile; but I’ve read and enjoyed other books by this author and so I
thought I’d give this one a go. I’m glad I did. I was hooked and pulled right
into the world of the story from the very beginning…Highly recommended.”

She has also published young adult horror
stories, is the author of several computer games, and now lives in New Mexico
with two horses, two donkeys, two dogs, and the one love of her life. Shannon
can be found online at sd-writer.com, facebook.com/sdwriter, and
twitter/sdwriter.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Today is Georgette Heyer's birthday! Since she would be 111 years old today, I guess this makes it her (according to Tolkien) eleventieth birthday.

Georgette Heyer is hailed by scores of fans as being the quintessential Regency Romance novelist. Most people credit her for creating not on the genre called Historical Romance, but its subgenre, Regency Romance. Heyer reportedly had a brother who was chronically ill, so to amuse him, she wrote a series of stories. Inspired by Jane Austen, Heyer wrote stories that took place in England during the Regency Era.

Since she lived a hundred years later than Austen, Heyer had the disadvantage of having to research the manners and mores of the time. However, according to rumor, her grandmother who lived with her family was raised during the late Regency and became Heyer's model for her Regency speech and customs.

Some critics find Heyer's novels filled with too much detail, others consider her detail to be her greatest asset, with her wit coming in as a close second. She wrote not only Regencies, but other historical novels including one about William the Conqueror hailed as one of the most historically accurate writings about the long ago King of England. She also wrote contemporary novels and thrillers.I admit I haven't read all of her books, but I plan to. Of those I have read, here are my favorites:

Cotillion, The Corinthian, A Civil Contract, Venetia, and Beauvallet.

This question of who our favorite Heyers books are came up in my Regency historical research group, and here were our group answers as to the number of people who rated their top 5 favorites:

Friday, August 2, 2013

I recently stumbled onto a little-known fact that it was a custom among the very best houses of the ton to have elaborate
pictures on the floors of their ballrooms (or drawing rooms converted to ballrooms) made out of chalk. Yes, chalk. This appears to have been done only by the wealthiest of hostesses, and probably most commonly done for special occasions.

Ballroom floors were
made of polished wooden floorboards, such as shown in the picture above, but
not too polished or the dancers would slip. Most of the time, the drawing
room floors were covered with large carpets. But for a ball, they
removed the furniture, and rolled up and removed the carpets. Most of
the big houses didn't have exclusively designated rooms for ballrooms--that was
a bit of a nouveau architectural design. Instead, they had state apartments with an
enfilade of smaller, connecting rooms which could be opened or closed off,
depending on the needs of the event.

The most common wood used for the
floors was pine. Some of them were made of oak, however, oak wasn't really
suitable because it's open-grained. Mahogany was too expensive. Wood created a
wonderful backdrop for the elaborate chalk drawings that graced the floors of
any elegant ball from about the early nineteenth century.

According Kathryn Kane, the
earliest reason for chalking the floor was probably practical--for the safety
of the dancers. The soles of most dancing slippers, or dancing pumps, during
the Regency Era were of plain, smooth leather which could easily slip on a
smooth floor. And considering how lively some of the dances were, slipping was
a real concern. Many dancers rubbed the soles of their shoes with chalk before
dancing so give their shoes better traction. I can't find a source as to when
exactly the first host or hostess had the clever idea to chalk the entire floor
for the ease and safety of their guests. But eventually, the trend grew to hire
artists to draw elaborate designs in chalk all over the ballroom floor.

Naturally, the chalk art would be ruined
as the dancers slid and danced over it. Some people liked to arrive early so
they could view the chalk art before it was marred and I am sure some hostess
waited until several guests arrived before she threw open the drawing room
doors to show off the artwork spotlighted by a crystal chandelier. I am equally
certain most guests were delighted with the elegant or fanciful designs created
for the occasion.

Another advantage for chalk drawings
was to disguise an old or worn floor. The drawings could be designed to
hide a myriad of flaws on the floor which would be illuminated by a ballroom
brightly lit by candles or gas lights--a requirement for any successful
ball. The drawings might be concentrated in the center of a pristine
floor, or spread all over entire floor to hide any embarrassing flaws.

One
feature of the ballroom at the highest levels of society for a short period
between approximately 1808 and 1821 was that for the most special of events the
ballroom floors were decorated for ornament and for safety with fanciful
chalked devices such as arabesques, nymphs, and symbolic or allegoric
images. Thus, at the annual hunt ball in Warwick in 1813, the floor of
the ballroom sported a colored-chalk full-length figure of Guy, Earl of
Warwick, “in complete armor,” as well as another gentleman “in the uniform of a
Member of the hunt, taking a flying leap over a barred fence” (“Sporting
Intelligence” 243-44). The chalked images took a long time to draw, and
were an ephemeral beauty of the ballroom, quickly blurred by the dancing feet,
as mentioned in a poem by Thomas Moore, published in 1813:

Thou know’st the time, thou man of lore!

It takes to chalk a ball-room floor—

Thou know’st the time too, well-a-day!

It takes to dance that chalk away.
(Brown 39)

Chalk drawings were customized, and could be of anything. To quote Kathryn
Kane: Floral designs were very popular for chalk designs,
often larger images of the same varieties of flowers which had been used to
decorate the ballroom. Arabesques were also fashionable, and in fact, it was a series of
complex arabesque patterns which were chalked on the ballroom floor at Carlton
House on the night of the grand fête. Mythological and fanciful motifs might
also be seen, such as nymphs, mermaids, centaurs, satyrs, sea gods and/or
classical heroes. Heavenly bodies, such as the sun, the moon, stars, planets,
comets and shooting stars were also popular motifs. For those who had the right
to bear them, their coat of arms might be chalked on the ballroom floor. At one
ball during the Regency, the guest of a gentleman who had had his coat of arms
chalked on the ballroom floor that evening is reported to have quipped that his
host was dancing on his arms as well as his legs. Floral patterns were most
common for engagement or wedding balls, though if either the bride or the groom
had a coat of arms, that might be chalked on the floor, often in the center,
surrounded by flowers. If the bride and groom both came from families with
coats of arms, the coat of arms of the bride might be quartered with those of
her new husband in the design which was chalked on the floor for their
celebratory ball. The dance floor was frequently chalked for masquerades,
oftentimes with figures in keeping with the theme of the masquerade. There are
suggestions that the more risqué masquerades had equally risqué drawings
chalked on their floors for the titillation of the dancers.

When a ball was given to celebrate a
special event, the designs chalked on the ballroom floor might be in keeping
with the theme of the ball... In November of 1818, the British Ministry in
London held a ball for the American delegation. One of the delegates, Harrison
Gray Otis, wrote to his wife about
the ball. He estimated there were at least 250 people in attendance and there
were two rooms set aside for dancing. In keeping the political nature of the
ball, the floor of each room had a unique chalked design. In one room, a great
white circle was chalked in the center of the room, in which was placed the
armorial shield of Great Britain, encircled by the motto of the Order of the
Garter, the Prince Regent’s crest and other symbols. In the second room, the
floor also had a large white chalked circle, but this one contained the arms of
the United States and was encircled by a set of symbols uniquely American. On
25 November 1823, The Royal Suspension Chain
Pier in Brighton was
officially opened. That evening, Captain
Samuel Brown, the man who had designed
the pier, and his wife, Mary, gave a ball at their home on the Marine Parade in
celebration. The guests were delighted to find, when the ballroom doors were
thrown open, that a magnificently realistic drawing of the Chain Pier had been
executed in chalk on the ballroom floor created by local artist and landscape
painter, Edward Fox. The chalk drawings also might reflect the occasion, such
as a birthday party, or any special celebration.

The practice of chalk art wasn't limited to
England, however; America also adopted the practice. A Mr. Weisiger, who had a very large ballroom had his
floor chalked in honor ofGeneral Lafayette. And John
Quincy Adams and his wife gave a ball in honor of General
Andrew Jackson, who was Adams’ rival in the upcoming presidential election.

While colored chalk was sometimes
used, the colored chalked messed up the hems of ladies dresses as they danced
across the floor. Longer dresses, in particular, would have gathered up the
chalk as the dancer moved over the chalk-drawn floor. Since white was such a
fashionable color for ladies gowns during the nineteenth century,
having a chalk-colored hem on a white gown would have been unsightly.

Since, to my knowledge, Jane Austen
never mentions chalk drawings on ballroom floors, it must not have been a
terribly wide-spread practice among the gentry, probably limited to the very rich. Nor are any
chalk drawings showing up in any of the cartoons or engravings of the era;
either the cartoonists and illustrators chose not to replicate them, or they
chalk drawings weren't common enough among any but the most exclusive circles to be included.

Unfortunately, just like the Regency
Era itself, chalk drawings are a long-gone practice. But they can be
resurrected in the pages of a Regency Romance novel, such as my re-released
book one of the Rogue Heart series, The Stranger She Married, coming soon. I'm
sure other historical novels set in early America or England feature the
charming practice as chalk drawings on the ballroom floor, either as a mere
mention of the description, or featured prominently in the book. If
you discover any pictures of such drawings, please let me know. I'd love to see
them!

Welcome to Historical Hussies

Welcome to our blog for readers and writers--or anyone, really, who loves history! Donna Hatch, Shannon Donnelly, Cheryl Bolen, Beppie Harrison, Jenna Jaxon, and Katherine Bone are historical romance authors. Very well, we confess; we're historical nerds! We are fascinated with ancient wedding traditions, Irish food, Roman Warfare, Regency Clothing, Scottish swords--you get the idea. Watch our blog for informative tidbits that just might figure in your next manuscript or deepen your appreciation for the next book you read, or even give you some useless trivia to spout at a party when you can't think of a thing to say.We welcome comments and followers, so chime in and enjoy the group!